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    <copyright>Copyright © 2026. National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.</copyright>
    <docs>http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss</docs>
    <managingEditor>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</managingEditor>
    <webMaster>tris-trb@nas.edu (Bill McLeod)</webMaster>
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      <title>Research in Progress (RIP)</title>
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    <item>
      <title>Project 329 - NMT Tracking and Monitoring Suborbital Commercial Space Vehicles</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1549401</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No abstract provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Fri, 21 Sep 2018 18:24:20 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1549401</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Onboard Context-Sensitive Informational System</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537223</link>
      <description><![CDATA[This proposal presents a possible solution for an onboard context-sensitive information system for Commercial Space Operations (OCSIS-CSO) that would be useful and usable for commercial space transportation (CST). It is an alternative to paper-based onboard documentation systems for operations in a spacecraft cockpit. The research team proposes to use aeronautics research and practice on onboard information systems (OIS), and design a generic OCSIS-CSO. The team's commercial aircraft experience, associated to their space background and environment (Florida Space Coast), is an insightful and useful background for this kind of research effort.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:03:39 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537223</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Tracking and Monitoring Suborbital Commercial Space Vehicles</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537219</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Monitoring the launch and on-orbit health of space-based assets will enhance and improve existing capabilities for safe and successful use of the near-Earth environment for scientific, military, and commercial purposes. This task will also help build a body of knowledge to assist in the development of the appropriate regulatory requirements for the commercial space industry.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:03:33 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537219</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Optical Measurements of Rocket Nozzle Thrust and Noise</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537218</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The high-temperature, high-speed exhaust from the propulsion systems of commercial systems, such as the SpaceX Falcon vehicles, impinges on the launch pad surface (see Space X, Merlin Engine in figure). This results in very high unsteady pressure loads and extremely high fluctuating thermal loads in the vicinity of the impingement region which leads to structural vibrations that can compromise efficiency and operational safety. The aeroacoustic loads due to rocket plume impingement and vehicle leading edge and boat-tail interactions will be experimentally examined in the research team's jet, rocket and aerodynamic facilities. The team will develop, test and refine promising Active, Passive and Hybrid flow control methods. Based on the results the team will identify the most promising method(s) in light of: flow unsteadiness reduction efficacy and full-scale implementation practicality.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:03:32 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537218</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Structural Health Monitoring Framework</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537216</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Develop structural health monitoring (SHM) framework for CST vehicles, payloads and components. The framework encompasses sensors, electronics, signal processing and automatic decision making as integral part of methodologies enabling structural condition assessment, continuous monitoring, and system prognosis. It is envisioned that SHM framework will serve as a key component of a future spaceflight recorder ("black box") that reports vehicle's health information and could facilitate re-certification for the next flight. Building on SHM system knowledge and expertise obtained in 2 successful spaceflights, the research team will explore fundamental aspects of structural monitoring in space, adapt existing sensors to launch/space/reentry operation, develop compensation routines for unfavorable influences of space environment, infer signal processing schemes and automatic decision support for SHM methodologies suitable to space applications. Practical examples of SHM of space system (planned through NASA FOP or other flight opportunity) will be demonstrated and system architecture compatible with "black box" will be explored. Planned collaboration with commercial launch providers will allow to tune SHM to specific launch vehicles and/or payloads.  AST GOALS: This task is aimed at improving safety and affordability of commercial spaceflights. In this capacity it supports AST's mission to ensure protection of the public and property and to carry out safety responsibilities. Safety inspection is an AST core function and as such structural health monitoring task will directly support AST's mission.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:03:26 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537216</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Reducing Cabin Lethality in Commercial Spacecraft</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537212</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The research team proposes to continue a study to evaluate the methods, procedures, and technologies available for the protection of crew-occupied space in commercial spaceflight vehicles to identify recommendations for safety in both nominal and contingency manned aerospace vehicle operations. This includes a review of methods for the de-lethalization of the cabin environment, space vehicle crashworthiness, individual restraint systems, emergency evacuation systems, survival equipment, and related objectives. The review will include an analysis of historical vehicle capabilities and standards as well as a discussion of likely cabin configurations of the various commercial vehicles currently in development. Further, development of a systematic protocol designed to establish best practices towards the evaluation of a space vehicle airframe for any lapses in safety design for primary mishap prevention, as well as appropriate aeromedical response plans to be utilized in the case of an aerospace mishap, will be undertaken. The ultimate objective would be to provide a detailed summary of minimal standards that a crew cabin should meet to be considered safe for occupants in nominal and contingency spaceflight operations and the establishment of a detailed plan for mishap aeromedical response.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:03:11 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537212</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Suborbital Pilot Assessment</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537211</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The advent of commercial suborbital spaceflight will introduce new exposures and stress profiles to both pilots and passengers unique to the commercial field, and thus not previously studied during the era of government spaceflight activities. Among these stressors is the exposure of the crew to sustained high Gx (front-to-back) and Gz (head-to-toe) acceleration in highly demanding flight profiles outside the common experience of even skilled pilots in tactical aircraft. Currently, flight crew medical standards are minimal, though many aerospace specialists are encouraging the adoption of more stringent medical and physiological requirements for flight crew expected to undergo repeat flights within a short period of time. Recommendations for such requirements are limited due to a current lack of experience on which to base predictions of pilot performance or the specific physiological demands of such repetitive stress scenarios. This study proposes to use multiple training modalities, including the NASTAR centrifuge and aerobatic flight profiles, to expose pilots to repeated high Gx and Gz sustained acceleration, assess their performance and physiological responses during serial simulated launch and re-entry profiles, and evaluate the impact of fatigue with repetitive exposures.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:03:10 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537211</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Nitrous Oxide Composite Tank Testing</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537201</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The objective of the proposed research activity is to investigate the fracture and fragmentation behavior of composite fuel tanks in commercial space vehicles. In this proposed effort, a tank consisting of an aluminum liner with a composite outer wrap will be pressurized to failure. A tank approximately 18 in. long and 6 in. diameter with a carbon fiber wrapped aluminum inner liner will be evaluated. The tank represents a current space-industry grade fuel tank. Two of these tests are planned to demonstrate repeatability and the capability for prediction using available computational programs.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:02:56 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537201</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>High Temperature, Optical Sapphire Pressure Sensors for Hypersonic Vehicles-FSU</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537175</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The study of hypersonic boundary layers is critical to the efficient design of hypersonic vehicles for rapid global and space access. The harsh environment makes conventional instrumentation unsuitable for time accurate, continuous, direct measurements. The development of a high temperature sensor for direct measurement of pressure is vital to the understanding of shock-wave/boundary layer interactions which directly influence critical vehicle characteristics such as lift, drag, and propulsion efficiency.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:02:21 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537175</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>High Temperature, Optical Sapphire Pressure Sensors for Hypersonic Vehicles-UF</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537174</link>
      <description><![CDATA[Orbital commercial space vehicles require high-temperature sensors (~1000°C/1600°F) or various phases of flight (e.g, hypersonic flight, high speed reentry) or to monitor system and subsystem performance (e.g., for gas turbines or scramjets). Current commercial sensors are only capable of up to ~300°C/600°F.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:02:20 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537174</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Role of the COE-CST in Encourage, Facilitate and Promote-SU</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537170</link>
      <description><![CDATA[The current environment favors such initiatives conceptually, but the business case for them is difficult to close. Unless they have a specific interest in the hosted technology, commercial launch users are reluctant to give up even a few kilograms of launch mass at prices supportable by research institutions and small commercial startups.  In the research team's recent research road-mapping effort, identifying and characterizing the space transportation market was identified as a priority research task for the Center of Excellence. In order to find a tractable focus area, the team took industry partners' suggestion of investigating secondary and hosted payloads (SHP™s). SHP™s represent a unique opportunity to achieve low cost access to space, yet are rarely used. This task will work to identify the barriers to SHP™s and how they can be overcome.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:02:15 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537170</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Unified 4D Trajectory Approach for Integrated Management</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537166</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No abstract provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:02:09 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537166</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Human Rating of Commercially Operated Spacecraft</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537165</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No abstract provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Wed, 22 Aug 2018 13:02:08 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1537165</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>310-UTMB: Increasing Cabin Survivability in Commercial Spacecraft</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1531982</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No abstract provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 14 Aug 2018 14:02:56 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1531982</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>309-UTMB: Suborbital Pilot Assessment</title>
      <link>https://rip.trb.org/View/1531981</link>
      <description><![CDATA[No abstract provided.]]></description>
      <pubDate>Tue, 14 Aug 2018 14:02:54 GMT</pubDate>
      <guid>https://rip.trb.org/View/1531981</guid>
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